Liverpool have dismissed speculation that claimed they were interesting in signing Real Madrid chief scout Juni Calafat, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Telegraph Sport reported this week that Everton, Chelsea and the Reds were all keen on recruiting the Madrid man, who has been at the forefront of Los Blancos transfer overhaul in recent times.
Madrid have recently shifted focus away from their traditional strategy of signing global superstars, nicknamed ‘Galaticos’, by instead turning their attention to rising and sometimes unknown stars of the future.
Calafat is believed to have been instrumental in Madrid’s signing of Martin Odegaard, South American quartet Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao, and Fede Valverde, and former Everton target Reinier Jesus.
However, despite Calafat’s impressive track record at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Reds have moved to dispel rumours that they are interested in his services.
The Echo reports that Liverpool are completely happy with their world-class recruitment team, while the club don’t see anything in Calafat’s records that would indicate that he is a more accomplished scout than what the club already have.
With Liverpool making clear that there isn’t a shred of truth to reports that make claims about their interest, Everton could potentially look to turn the situation to their advantage.
The Toffees have already begun to build a formidable recruitment team at Goodison Park, with an elite manager in Carlo Ancelotti and a highly regarded and well-respected director of football in Marcel Brands setting a strong precedent for backroom staff.
Logically, the next step could be to find an elite level scout who can run the club’s scouting network, helping to facilitate the best deals for the club as they look to continue growing and improving under Farhad Moshiri’s ownership.
In many ways, the Blues are still reeling from the failed experiment of appointing former Leicester scout Steve Walsh as the club’s director of football, with the man responsible for signing Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante for the Foxes getting sacked by Everton in order for Brands to take over.
We feel as if the Toffees are still riddled with deadwood, signed during the regime of previous technical staff, and once the club have moved to shift all those that are unwanted by Ancelotti, we think they’ll need a scout to lead the recruitment charge alongside the Italian and Brands.
Calafat could be just the man to do just that, if he is able to live up to his reputation, and with Liverpool have declared themselves to not be in the running, the Blues appear to have one less opponent for his signature.
